The Dark Story of Umesh Reddy: A Serial Rapist Who Terrorized Bengaluru for Decades

Strategic Insights -

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, a man known as Umesh Reddy terrorized Bengaluru, committing a string of heinous crimes, including rape-murders and thefts. Reddy's modus operandi was to target homemakers between 11 am and 3 pm, when their husbands were away for work, and investigators believed that many of the theft cases involved sexual assault. Despite his notoriety, Reddy managed to escape from police custody multiple times, earning him the nickname "serial rapist."

Key Takeaways:

  • Umesh Reddy, a former CRPF personnel, was convicted in nine cases, including rape-murder, and was sentenced to death.
  • Reddy's crimes spanned over a decade, from the late 1990s to the early 2000s, and he was known to target homemakers between 11 am and 3 pm.
  • Many of the theft cases against Reddy involved sexual assault, but the victims feared stigma and did not report the crimes.
  • Reddy escaped from police custody multiple times, including three instances where he disappeared while being taken from the prison to the court.
  • In 2006, Reddy was awarded the death penalty in the case of the widow's rape-murder, which was upheld by the Karnataka High Court and the Supreme Court in 2011.
  • Reddy filed a mercy petition, which was commuted to 30 years' imprisonment by the Supreme Court in November 2022.
  • Two Kannada movies and a Netflix documentary were released based on Reddy's crimes in 2013 and 2022, respectively.

Statistics:

  • There were at least 19 pending cases against Reddy, including four in Chitradurga and four in Bengaluru.
  • Reddy was convicted in nine cases, including four of rape-murder.
  • He was sentenced to death in the case of the widow's rape-murder and was awarded a death sentence by the Supreme Court in 2011.
  • In 2022, the Supreme Court commuted Reddy's death sentence to 30 years' imprisonment.
  • Reddy was moved to Bengaluru central prison from Hindalga prison, Belagavi, in June 2023.

Sources:

  • "The Beast of Bangalore" on Netflix
  • "Umesh" (Kannada movie, 2013)
  • "Khatarnak Umesh Reddy" (Kannada movie, 2013)
  • "Bengaluru serial rapist's story as told in a documentary" by Sathya Saran, The Indian Express, 2022
  • "Umesh Reddy, serial rapist, gets 30 years in jail" by Kumar Chellappan, The Hindu, 2022